First published ‘#Turkey’s Eastern Allies and Deadlock in #Idlib” on Ahval on 12 September 2018
Last week’s Tehran summit meeting between the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey was the last chance to find a diplomatic solution to stave off a likely Syrian government offensive on the rebel-held province of Idlib, where three million civilians trapped .
But instead, it highlighted the complexity of regional power politics after the end of a bi-polar world order. In the Middle East in particular, the Cold War balance of power has been replaced with multi-polar chaos.
The region has suffered civil wars in Iraq, Libya, and Syria, leading to massive civilian displacement, and subsequent degrees of anarchy, where neither a regional power, nor an external actor is in full control.
The Tehran summit was symbolic of the search for alternatives to the U.S.-led disorder in Middle East politics since 9/11. As a member of the NATO, Turkey’s position has until recently been predominantly pro-Western. The summit demonstrated Ankara’s shift eastwards towards Russia and Iran.
Continue Reading https://ahvalnews.com/idlib/turkeys-eastern-allies-and-deadlock-idlib
Dr Ayla Göl 